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KANSAS CITY, Kan. - Considering where Jeff Gordon was after Richmond, left out of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship in part due to some late-race shenanigans, he couldnt have been happier on Sunday. Not only is Gordon in the Chase, hes making a charge. Gordon finished third at Kansas Speedway behind winner Kevin Harvick and runner-up Kurt Busch, his third top-10 finish in four races in NASCARs playoffs. Thats allowed him to climb to fourth in points, 32 behind leader Matt Kenseth with six races left in the season. "Earlier this year, I was probably as frustrated as Ive ever been in a racecar. We were just missing something," Gordon said. "Right now, my team has been bringing great cars to the track, not just in the Chase, but I think three, four races prior to that we started to make gains." Still, those gains wouldnt have been enough for Gordon to squeeze into the Chase when at least three organizations appeared to manipulate the ending to the race at Richmond. NASCAR chairman Brian France used his power the following weekend to make an unprecedented expansion to the field after two separate investigations revealed that Gordon did not have a fair chance to race his way into the 12-driver Chase because of the late-race controversy. Now, the four-time champion is making a move toward the top of the table. He finished sixth in the Chase opener at Chicago, struggled to a 15th-place finish at New Hampshire, and then bounced back with a fourth-place run at Dover. His performance on a slippery surface at Kansas Speedway on Sunday sends him to Charlotte brimming with confidence. "Its a team effort," Gordon said. "Im just proud of how weve fought through everything weve fought through this year, and were making the most of it." Gordon isnt the only one making a Chase charge. Harvicks third victory of the season shot him to third in points behind Kenseth and five-time champion Jimmie Johnson. He was 39 points back heading into the weekend and trimmed off 14 points from his deficit, putting him within striking distance of his first championship. "Everybody wrote us off at the beginning of the year," said Harvick, who recalled that nobody wanted to talk to him at the series annual media day. "Were just going to keep going our thing, and hopefully keep doing it quietly and have fun at it." Even though hes won 22 times in the Sprint Cup series, and has long been considered one of its best drivers, Harvick hasnt been able to break through for a championship. He had back-to-back third-place finishes in 2010 and 11, and was fourth in the Chase last year. It would also tie a nice bow on his lengthy career with Richard Childress Racing. Harvick is heading to Stewart-Haas next year after more than a dozen years with the same team. "Were committed to try to win the championship," Childress said. "We owe it to our sponsors and our fans to give them 100 per cent, and thats what we agreed to do, and thats what were going to do until Homestead. No matter what happens between now and then, thats our goal is to go after the championship. What a great way to go out." Harvick also indicated that it would be the proper way to go out. "Its business, but its also you have a sense of pride," he said. "You want to go out with a sense of success and everything has gone well." Harvick and Gordon both have plenty of work to do if they want to catch Kenseth and Johnson, two drivers who are certainly familiar with the pressure of winning a championship. Kenseth, who won Saturdays Nationwide race, struggled to tame repaved Kansas Speedway on Sunday. He made a late charge just to finish 11th, allowing him to maintain a three-point lead over Johnson, who finished sixth for his 10th straight top-10 finish at the track. "It was just a struggle all day, even when we were in front. It was as struggle," Kenseth said. "It was so incredibly treacherous." Johnson also called the racing treacherous. There were 15 cautions, a record for a Sprint Cup race at the track, and one of the wrecks claimed Chase contender Kyle Busch. Johnson managed to navigate through the carnage to another solid finish, one that he hopes will put him in position to win his sixth Sprint Cup championship. "We had so many things happen to us and still salvaged a very strong finish," he said. "We got a little points on the No. 20 and put a bunch on the No. 18, so in the big scheme of things, it was a very good day for the team." Wholesale NHL Jerseys . Blackwood, 28, has played the last three seasons in the San Diego Padres system, including the past two summers with Class AA San Antonio of the Texas League. NHL Jerseys China . Ashley Youngs cross was inadvertently headed by Chester into his own net in the 66th minute, allowing United to claim a third straight league win. "We had to dig deep with our fighting spirit and weve done that," United striker Wayne Rooney said. http://www.cheapnhljerseyschinafreeshipping.com/ . Halifax beat the Saint John Sea Dogs 7-5 on the strength of two goals apiece from Nikolaj Ehlers, Matt Murphy and Brent Andrews. Jonathan Drouin also scored and had three assists while Zachary Fucale made 17 saves for the Mooseheads (16-8-0), who led 6-1 after two periods. NHL Jerseys Wholesale . The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling "puts an end to my dreams of being a top player," the 27-year-old Troicki said in a statement. "I worked my entire life for it, and it has been taken away from me in one afternoon by a doctor I didnt know," said Troicki, whose ranking peaked at No. Wholesale NHL Jerseys China . The recently retired Stern was elected Friday to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and will be enshrined with the class of 2014 on Aug.NEW YORK -- The result of the New York Islanders preseason game at the Barclays Center on Saturday night was secondary to the initial impression the arena left on the team and its fans. "It was great," New York coach Jack Capuano said after the Islanders lost 3-0 to the New Jersey Devils in the first NHL game played in the Barclays Center. Cory Schneider made 26 saves, Jacob Josefson scored the first NHL goal in Barclays Center history at 10:14 of the first period, and Patrik Elias and Steve Bernier added goals for New Jersey. Evgeni Nabokov made 22 saves for New York. The first NHL game played in Brooklyn drew a crowd of 14,689. Barclays Center holds 15,813 for hockey, although Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark envisions adding "100-300" seats as part of a "West End Club." Barclays seats 17,732 for college basketball and the NBAs Brooklyn Nets, and holds 19,000 for concerts. "When you sell over 13,000 for a preseason game, were thrilled," Yormark said. "We know we can sell hockey in Brooklyn. Twenty-six per cent of (the) ticket buyers are from Brooklyn." The Islanders will officially move into $1 billion arena before the 2015-16 season. Saturday nights exhibition game was a trial run to introduce the year-old building to fans, and Yormark said the response he received was overwhelmingly positive. "I walked every area of the building," he said. "I was stopped (by fans who said), Brett, we love the building. Brett, we love the building." Yormarks words were echoed by Islanders fans used to the 41-year-oldd Nassau Coliseum.dddddddddddd "Great, beautiful building," said Frank Smarra, a self-proclaimed lifelong Islanders fan from Astoria, Queens. "(It is) clean, roomy. (It) generates a lot of excitement. "(Its) a whole new slate for the organization. I think things are finally falling into place." Smarra said the "45-minute" subway ride from Queens to Brooklyn was easy compared to driving and paying for parking at Nassau Coliseum. One of the Barclays selling points is its convenience, as 11 New York City bus and subway lines stop there, as does the Long Island Rail Road. When he spoke with reporters following the Islanders practice session at Barclays on Sept. 12, team owner Charles Wang reiterated that his team has a lease at the Nassau Coliseum for the next two seasons, but did not reject the notion of his team playing regular-season games in Brooklyn next year. While acknowledging he had to have discussions with team and building officials, Yormark did not dismiss the idea of Barclays playing host to regular-season games next season. "I have to sit with Charles (and) Bruce Ratner after (the game) tonight," Yormark said. "(But the) building is ready to be a host NHL venue." New York defenceman Travis Hamonic agreed. "But this obviously is going to be our home for a long time. So in my opinion the more games we play here (will be) awesome," Hamonic said. "Were looking forward to it. Its a great building, an unreal atmosphere and a great spot. So were going to be here for years to come." Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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